Brokers around the nation know that Orion offers a full range of VA products since we take VA lending seriously. These loans close in the name of Orion, but we recognize that the borrower is our broker’s client. The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau announced settlements with a handful of lenders but you will never see First Community Mortgage cutting corners with your veteran clients, or with this program.

Orion’s VA products are spelled out on our website. For purchase transactions, there is no down payment required as long as the sales price isn’t more than the appraised value. Orion offers a VA purchase loan allowing veterans over 100% financing without private mortgage insurance, or a 20% second mortgage and up to $6,000 for energy efficient improvements. Veterans may borrow up to 103.3% of the sales price or reasonable value of the home, whichever is less, which means your client could buy a home for zero down payment. Your borrower doesn’t have to be a first-time home buyer to take advantage of this program.

Orion Lending has your clients covered on VA IRRRL where your veteran client may borrow up to 100.5% of the total loan amount and can re-use the entitlement originally used. With an IRRRL, no appraisal is required and credit qualification is streamlined if they have a 6-month mortgage history.

The CFPB announced settlements (see here, here, and here) with three mortgage lenders for mailing consumers advertisements for VA mortgages that allegedly contained misleading statements or lacked required disclosures. Orion will never make false claims about offering or providing VA guaranteed mortgage loans, nor will we send out false, misleading, and inaccurate direct-mail advertisements to service members and veterans in violation published rules and regulations.

These companies were alleged to have skirted the rules regarding advertising, credit terms, skipping payments, and claims about being affiliated with the government. The CFPB tells us that two of the lenders also allegedly used the name of the consumer’s current lender in a misleading way, and misrepresented that consumers would receive specific escrow refund amounts if they refinanced their mortgages, even though the advertised amounts “were calculated using a methodology that had no bearing on the actual escrow refund amount,” and consumers were often required to fund new escrow accounts upon generating new loans.

We recommend that Orion’s, and all, brokers familiarize themselves with the CFPB’s settlements, and always be watchful for unscrupulous lenders making questionable claims. They don’t have a place in our industry.